Inherited fromMiddle Englishstomakere,stomachere, perhaps afterAnglo-Norman*estomachier. Equivalent tostomach +-er.
stomacher (pluralstomachers)
- (obsolete) A type of men'swaistcoat.[15th–18th c.]
- (now chiefly historical) Anornamentalcloth, oftenembellished withembroidery orjewelry,worn over thechest bywomen beneath theirbodices or bymen andwomen as thecentralpart of anopenshirt,blouse, orjacket.
1851, Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851,Official descriptive and illustrated catalogue: Volume 2,page689:Stomacher brooch of brilliants and fine oriental pearls.
1852 March –1853 September,Charles Dickens,Bleak House, London:Bradbury and Evans, […], published1853,→OCLC:She is a fine old lady, handsome, stately, wonderfully neat, and has such a back and such astomacher that if her stays should turn out when she dies to have been a broad old-fashioned family fire-grate, nobody who knows her would have cause to be surprised.
1891,Oscar Wilde, chapter XI, inThe Picture of Dorian Gray, London; New York, N.Y.:Ward Lock & Co.,→OCLC:Here, from the fading canvas, smiled Lady Elizabeth Devereux, in her gauze hood, pearlstomacher, and pink slashed sleeves.
1964, Mona Curran,Collecting Antique Jewellery[1], Emerson Books, page76:From about 1850 onwards jewellery varied between these outsize sprays,stomachers and corsage montages and smaller, more delicate pieces which appeared almost understated by contrast.
2006, Judith Pascoe,The Hummingbird Cabinet, Cornell University Press,,→ISBN, page58:The most striking accessory of all, however, was a diamondstomacher, a kind of lapidary bib that covered the princess's chest and stomach. We do not know exactly what Charlotte was thinking as she stood under the weight of silver, ermine, velvet, and jewels. But we know what many who saw her thought about herstomacher.
- A similar item ofmail worn over and protecting the stomach.
2013 October 18, Eileen Gunn,Questionable Practices: Stories, Small Beer Press,→ISBN:Over it he placed a chain mailstomacher. Then, atop all, he strapped on an item of shaped metal he called a tace. “There,”he said at last. “She might knock the windout of you, but she won't kill you.”
2019 January 1, Geraldine McCaughrean,Vainglory: Can anything stop the Gloriole family achieving power?, Mereo Books,→ISBN, page127:Irritated to find his way barred by a brace of Englishmen, Victoire took one below the ear and the other low down, through the mailstomacher, before tramping on into the shade of a tree and sitting down with his back to the trunk.
- Ablow to thestomach.
1751,[Tobias] Smollett,The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume(please specify |volume=I to IV), London: Harrison and Co., […],→OCLC:Thomas resenting such ungenerous behaviour, bestowed such astomacher upon the officious intermeddler, as discomposed the whole œconomy of his entrails, and obliged him to discharge the interjection ah! with demonstration of great anguish and amazement.
ornamental cloth worn under lacing of bodice
stomacher
- first-personsingularpresentactivesubjunctive ofstomachor
stomacher
- alternative form ofstomakere
